Individual perceptions, word-of-mouth and the media create new meanings and sometimes mutilate the hard work of the brand marketer.
Accurately predicting the future success of a novel therapeutic compound in today's burgeoning oncology market is perhaps best achieved by consulting a really good crystal ball. Alternatively, R&D managers can plot a drug's strengths and weaknesses against the emerging universe of insights into the molecular basis of disease and factor in the challenges of increasingly rigorous data review, high drug development price tags, unpredictable development timelines, and a wary post-launch reception from cost-cutting reimbursement regulators in every major pharmaceutical market.
Lift your head above the detail of your own product and company problems and look at the industry press. A remarkably consistent set of signals emerges. Redundancies, slower growth and thinner R&D pipelines all point to an industry that, whilst not in decline, is struggling to maintain the halcyon days of its youth.
One of the great truisms in life is that it is better to prevent than it is to treat. And the concept of prevention is becoming increasingly important to our customers, with regard to how they view certain conditions, such as obesity. If we can see what might be going wrong in the first place, it is far easier to act to prevent damage than to wait until disaster strikes and then try to repair it. So, when it comes to marketing brands, why, once we have spent significant time and effort developing them, do we often ignore the signs that all is not well?
The last decade or so has seen the major pharmaceutical companies grow and grow. Through mergers and acquisitions, the big guys have got bigger and bigger and a huge number of the little guys have been swallowed up in the process. The same has happened with the big communications networks like IPG, Omnicom and WPP, as they have acquired small- to medium-sized independent agencies in an attempt to complete their European coverage to meet their individual client needs.
Podcasts allow marketers to be creative using a flexible, ubiquitous and quick information delivery format.
Making good quality medicines available at relatively low prices is a pretty noble thing.
Driving to launch a new drug barely leaves time to do just the essential things. Although the focus on trial recruitment, file submission and package presentation is key, it can drive out other activities that are equally important to the continued success of your drug. This includes the development of an efficient supply chain.
The recent battle between Merck and Teva is yet another expression of the ongoing breakdown of the Industry's traditional business structures and practices. It also means that traditional intellectual property (IP) and pricing models are changing as we speak. This time, however, it is the generics companies that could remain with the shorter end of the stick.
